Four days has passed and still, we haven’t taken a single photograph of city’s landmark building, the Taipei 101. Hailed as the tallest building in the world in 2004, it has only been topped by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa five years after. It stands right across our hotel and can actually be seen right from our room window. It is, in most probability, the reason why we were taking it for granted.

TOUCHDOWN TAIPEI!

We arrived in Taipei quite late, taking an almost midnight flight from Manila. There were no delays, but the flight time took about an hour and a half, take in the immigration lines and we were out into the nippy Taipei night in the wee hours of the morning, our chauffer from Grand Hyatt Taipei, waiting for us at the arrivals area with a welcoming smile.

RIDING IN STYLE TO OUR HOTEL

The start of our Taipei tour couldn’t be much more luxurious. We traversed the deserted highways of the city on a souped up BMW limousine, complete with digitally controlled reclining seats, choice music, bottles of water and towelettes. We watched the darkened cityscape with Adele singing on the background.

GRAND HYATT TAIPEI’S MASSIVE LOBBY

LOVELY, JUST LOVELY

INTERESTING ART INSTALLATION AT ONE OF THE EXITS OF THE HOTEL

The lobby of the Grand Hyatt Taipei welcomed us in grand splendor; three level-high ceiling, massive circular columns, shiny marble floors, sparkling chandeliers, graceful fountains and a massive Christmas tree right in the middle. We went straight to our room at the 18th floor, errrr, make that a suite, with a helpful hotel concierge relaying information about our room and the hotel itself as we went along.

LODGED AT HYATT’S GRAND EXECUTIVE VIEW SUITE

SPACIOUS LIVING AREA

We were billeted at the Grand Executive View Suite[CHECK RATES & AVAILABILITY] and it is massively spacious. It has its own stylish foyer, a powder room, a dining area with a mini bar and coffee and tea-making appurtenances, a comfy living area and a separate master’s bedroom with walk-in closet and amazing toilet & bath where one can opt to bare everything for all of Taipei to see, lol.

LUXURIOUS TOILET AND BATH

COZY MASTER’S BEDROOM

We’ve read reports of ghost sightings at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, but we’ve never experienced any paranormal activity during our whole stay. Well, except during our second day when we woke to the bed shaking. It turned out to be a mild earthquake though, so we’ve had nothing but super comfortable sleep, undisturbed by any ghosts, every single night.

THE VIEW FROM OUR ROOM’S FOYER

THE VIEW FROM OUR ROOM

Living up to its name, our suite indeed has an executive view, the foyer overlooks an old colorful district of Taipei, the bedroom takes in a panorama of parks, the city hall, the bird’s nest-like Taipei Dome and the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. The best part, however, is at the living area. As I parted the blinds, I was surprised to see the Taipei 101 up close and very personal.

24-HOUR GYMNASIUM

HEATED POOL, PERFECT FOR TAIPEI’S CHILLY WEATHER

The Grand Hyatt Taipei not only boasts of amenities like a 24-hour gym, a spa, conference halls or its heated outdoor pool, but it also has a total of nine dining places. From romantic dinners at the Bel Air Bar and Grill, live music at Ziga Zaga, tea time at the Cha Lounge, Chinese dishes at the Yun Jin Restaurant or if Japanese is your thing then there’s Irodori. And then there’s their stylish Cheersand the Cantonese and dimsums at the Pearl Liang.

AT THE GRAND CLUB LOUNGE

QUICK SNACK BEFORE GOING OUT

It was quite a quandary for us, do we dine at these restaurants or do we check out the Taipei night markets? The city is known for excellent street food, everybody keeps telling us so. So we made a compromise, since the breakfast is complimentary and access to the Grand Club Lounge is free as well for suite guests, we decided that all breakfast would be at the hotel, plus if we can squeeze in a bit of time, we would have some snacks at the Grand Club Lounge.

BUFFET BREAKFAST AT CAFE RESTAURANT

ASIAN SECTION OF CAFE RESTAURANT

LOVELY INTERIORS

For breakfast, we have a choice of having it at the Cafe Restaurant, which serves a combination of Asian and Western cuisines, or at the Grand Club Lounge. We went with the former, as it has a lot more choices (yes, we checked, lol). It has four main sections, Western for bacons, sausages, omelets and such, Indian for roti and curries, Japanese for sushi and everything Japanese, a pastry section for breads and desserts, and finally a Chinese and Taiwanese area for local specialties.

MY VERY TAIWANESE BREAKFAST, BACONS COMING UP

Without miss, my plates every morning are filled with Western, Taiwanese and Chinese offerings, dimsums, noodles, fried rice mixing in with a healthy dose of crispy bacons and massive amount of scrambled eggs.

THANK YOU GRAND HYATT TAIPEI

We stayed a total of three full days at the Grand Hyatt Taipei. It was indeed a luxurious stay made more convenient by the fact that the Taipei 101 was just next door, the hiking trail to the Elephant Mountain was just some minutes walk away and the train station to the city’s extensive underground railway is just a hop from the lobby, perfect for a Taipei daytour. My only wish was that we could’ve stayed longer and simply relax inside the hotel all day, a staycation within an out of the country vacation.